EPA Tasmania to test River Derwent water to try determine source of beach faecal contamination

Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority has committed to helping solve the River Derwent’s poor water quality which shut down a number of southern beaches over summer.

A sign warning against swimming at the southern end of Blackmans Bay Beach. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

TASMANIA’S Environment Protection Authority has committed to helping solve the River Derwent’s poor recreational water quality that shut down a number of southern beaches over summer.

EPA Tasmania and Analytical Services Tasmania (AST) will assist with an investigation into the nature and potential sources of sewage contamination at Blackmans Bay and Kingston Beach.

The study will take place during the 2019-20 summer and will be a joint effort with the Derwent Estuary Program.

It comes after Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter wrote to EPA Tasmania boss Wes Ford in April requesting urgent help to fix the beach contamination issues.

Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter wrote to EPA boss Wes Ford asking for help to solve the poor water quality. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Cr Winter asked the authority if to investigate the extreme faecal bacteria levels at Blackmans Bay Beach and Kingston Beach north earlier this year and consider what assistance they could provide council to tackle the ongoing issue.

Cr Winter said he was grateful to now have the State Government — through the EPA — involved.

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“We’ve been working really hard with TasWater and the Derwent Estuary Program to improve water quality. The new EPA testing will further enhance our joint efforts to get to the bottom of the causes of Derwent pollution and resolve them,” he said.

During State Government budget estimates earlier this month, EPA director Mr Ford said he would work with councils to try to identify the source.

EPA Tasmania director Wes Ford.

“Over the coming summer the EPA is going to undertake some sampling of its own using Analytical Services Tasmania to see if we can identify some other markers that can determine where the effluent is coming from in terms of the enterococci,” he said.

An EPA spokeswoman said AST’s testing was specific enough to differentiate human faecal contamination from animal contamination.

“The laboratory can also identify a number of other chemicals found in sewage such as caffeine and hormones,” she said.

“AST’s testing can also be used in tracing contamination back up stormwater systems in a similar way to dye or CCTV camera studies.”

Blackmans Bay Beach.

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She said AST had developed a sampling plan and testing methods to track the presence of sewerage in the water and beach sediments.

Last week Kingborough Council and TasWater announced measures to divert stormwater during non-rain events away from Blackmans Bay in an effort to reduce beach faecal bacteria pollution.

The trial — which will divert low-flow water in the stormwater network into sewage pipes to go through the normal treatment process — will be installed later this year in the Illawarra Rd catchment area in Blackmans Bay.

The poor recreational water quality that plagued Blackmans Bay Beach south last summer has been traced to plumbing on a handful of private properties and tree roots growing into stormwater pipes.

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